Friday, September 02, 2011

Himalayan Honeysuckle

This painting is a bit different in style for me than some of my others ... I'm not sure I like it or not -- but it was based on a photograph found in the Wet Canvas Reference Library of Himalyan Honeysuckle. The fruit structure of this plant and brilliant magenta inspired my choice of subject - and I tried painting it a bit more botanically -- but just didn't like the tightness my painting in that particular style gave the work. I opted for a more expressive approach focused more on color and flow ....

Yesterday with the announcement of the orchard win, the paperwork, our Plant a Row for the Hungry volunteers, planting the rest of the fall garden, making apple and pear butter as a treat for the volunteers as well as routine demands made for a long, long day and even longer evening. When I got home I had a ton of vegetables to prepare for my dehydration class coming up this month, laundry, bill paying and the rest .. whew ... but at least cramming all that into one long day will leave this holiday weekend a bit freer... I hope!

The weather this week has been divine ... after all those storms - we've had a cooling off period - thankfully - so that clean-up efforts can continue in relatively comfortable temperatures, and those still without power won't be in stiffling heat.

The season has definitely turned as the tropics continue to send storms our way - typical for this time of year. We're expecting rain most of the weekend due to a tropical depression in the gulf, and we have our eyes on another hurricane brewing to the east. Gracious.

I hope your weekend is terrific, and once more, a million thank yous for your support and votes during our long orchard project!